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Overview

South West · Non-metropolitan district

Forest of Dean

2026/27 view

Forest of Dean · ONS E07000080

Financial position as at 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

View sources
COUNCIL AT A GLANCE

Who runs the council and its current position

35/ 100
COUNCILMETRICS FINANCIAL HEALTH SCORE

Under pressure

Compared only with non-metropolitan district councils using central government returns.

164 councils in peer group Rank 119 of 164 Medium confidence 2024/25 outturn · 2026/27 Q1 debt How this is calculated
Reserves cover15
Debt burden67
Debt direction18
YEAR-ON-YEAR CONTEXT Change from the previous reported period Each measure uses its own official reporting timetable.
Net debt £-14.66m 2026/27 Q1 vs 2025/26 Q4
+£1.11m 7.1%
Service expenditure £15.82m 2024/25 vs 2023/24
+£2.55m 19.2%
Unallocated reserves £1.02m 2024/25 vs 2023/24
£0.00 0.0%
FIVE-YEAR FINANCIAL TREND

How this council's finances have changed

Official annual outturn. Each line uses its own scale so direction remains easy to read.

Through 2024/25
Service expenditure £15.82m
2.9%
2020/21: £15.37m 2021/22: £12.63m 2022/23: £11.99m 2023/24: £13.27m 2024/25: £15.82m
Net revenue expenditure £12.68m
14.2%
2020/21: £14.77m 2021/22: £9.82m 2022/23: £9.38m 2023/24: £10.41m 2024/25: £12.68m
Council Tax requirement £9.74m
24.4%
2020/21: £7.83m 2021/22: £8.20m 2022/23: £8.60m 2023/24: £9.12m 2024/25: £9.74m
Unallocated reserves £1.02m
38.3%
2020/21: £734.0k 2021/22: £969.0k 2022/23: £971.0k 2023/24: £1.02m 2024/25: £1.02m
COUNCILMETRICS COMMUNITY SCORE Share your experience 0 of 25 responses collected before results are published
Score this council
Political controlNot yet recordedAdministration not identified
Council leaderNot identifiedParty not identified
Resident population89,7532024 estimate
Latest net debt£-14.66m2026/27 Q1 quarter end
WASTE & RECYCLING

What happens to household waste?

Official Defra measures for Forest of Dean, with like-for-like comparison against collection authorities.

2024/25
52.8%recycled
Household recycling rate

Recycling rate fell

0.5 percentage points vs 2023/24
29 of 196 peer authorities Peer median 42.1%
Residual waste401.6 kgper household+4.3 kg year on year
Waste collected385.1 kgper resident+0.3 kg year on year
Household waste34,854tonnes collected18,395 tonnes recycled
WHERE HOUSEHOLD WASTE WENT

Recycled versus residual waste

18,395 t recycled, composted or reused 16,459 t not recycled
RECYCLING RATE TREND

10 years of official data

52.8%
2015/16: 48.4%2016/17: 52.2%2017/18: 54.2%2018/19: 53.8%2019/20: 52.4%2020/21: 53.6%2021/22: 54.3%2022/23: 52.4%2023/24: 53.3%2024/25: 52.8%
2015/162024/25
Official Defra waste statistics · Annual local-authority return · Figures may not sum exactly because of published rounding.View source
EDUCATION

Schools and education

Schools, pupil numbers and latest education outcomes across Forest of Dean.

2024/25
SCHOOLS & PUPILS

Education at a glance

Explore schools
55 Open schools
10,867 Pupils
13,388 School places
81.2% Capacity utilisation
ATTAINMENT & OUTCOMES

Key Stage 4

Published outcomes for pupils living in Forest of Dean.

Attainment 8
46.7
South West 46.2
England 46.1
0.6 points above England
English & maths grade 5+
46.2%
South West 46.2%
England 45.4%
0.8 percentage points above England
EBacc entry
37.1%
South West 33.0%
England 40.5%
3.4 percentage points below England
PROGRESS

Progress 8

0.01

Latest published Progress 8 score, 2023/24.

A score of 0 represents the national average.
TREND

Attainment 8 over time

45.5 18/19
50.5 19/20
51.2 20/21
47.3 21/22
45.5 22/23
44.0 23/24
46.7 24/25
Education context

Forest of Dean's latest Key Stage 4 outcomes show a mixed picture when compared with South West and England.

Department for Education · Key Stage 4 performance · Pupil residency
HOUSING & AFFORDABILITY

Housing costs and local earnings

House prices and affordability for Forest of Dean, based on the earnings of local residents.

2025
Median house price
£274,995
+ 17.0% over five years
Median resident earnings
£42,326
+ 30.6% over five years
House price to earnings
6.50×
Improved from 7.25× five years ago
PRIVATE RENTING

Average monthly private rent

Typical private rental cost across all property types in Forest of Dean.

£826 / month
+ 0.3% in the last year
July 2026
Forest of Dean
£826
+ 0.3%
South West
£1,236
+ 4.5%
England
£1,451
+ 3.8%
Compared with South West £410 less per month
Compared with England £625 less per month
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Housing affordability

Median house price as a multiple of median resident earnings. Lower is more affordable.

Forest of Dean
6.50×
South West
8.26×
England
7.64×
Compared with South West More affordable
Compared with England More affordable
Source: Office for National Statistics · Housing affordability in England and Wales · House prices year ending September · Residence-based earnings
PLANNING & HOUSING DELIVERY

Is development moving through the system?

Quarterly planning decisions and the government's latest three-year Housing Delivery Test.

2026 Q1
Applications received131this quarter−7 vs 2025 Q4
Applications decided116this quarter−34 vs 2025 Q4
Outstanding applications—at quarter end
93.1%approved
Overall approval rate108 granted8 refused−3.6 pts vs previous quarter
DECISION TIMELINESS

Decisions made within time

94.8%
Rank 106 of 294 reporting authoritiesNational median 92.5%

1.2 percentage points lower than 2025 Q4

APPLICATION MIX

Performance by development type

TypeDecisionsApprovedIn time Major4100.0%100.0% Minor5384.9%96.2% Other59100.0%93.2%
QUARTERLY FLOW

Applications through the system

Last 8 quarters
2024 Q2: 1492024 Q3: 1682024 Q4: 1622025 Q1: 1692025 Q2: 1472025 Q3: 1602025 Q4: 1382026 Q1: 1312024 Q2: 1912024 Q3: 1592024 Q4: 1552025 Q1: 1512025 Q2: 1532025 Q3: 1422025 Q4: 1502026 Q1: 116
2024 Q2
Received Decided Outstanding
2026 Q1
HOUSING DELIVERY TEST

Homes delivered against requirement

128%
Required991homes over three years
Delivered1,270homes over three years
100% requirement
No consequenceHDT 2025 government assessment
CRIME & POLICING

Police-recorded crime

Latest police-recorded crime figures for Forest of Dean, excluding fraud.

Year ending Mar 2026
Recorded offences 4,184 Total police-recorded crime excluding fraud
Crime rate 46.6 offences per 1,000 residents
Annual change − 3.4% compared with the previous year
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Recorded crime rate

Offences per 1,000 residents
Forest of Dean Your council
46.6 − 3.4%
South West Region
73.5 + 1.3%
England National
83.4 − 1.5%

Forest of Dean has a recorded crime rate 36.6% below South West. It is 44.1% below the England rate.

OFFENCE PROFILE

Recorded crime by category

Gloucestershire
Violence 1,977
22.0 per 1,000 − 8.0%
Theft 871
9.7 per 1,000 − 6.0%
Public order 356
4.0 per 1,000 − 5.6%
Criminal damage 448
5.0 per 1,000 + 23.8%
Shoplifting 166
1.8 per 1,000 + 17.7%
Vehicle offences 143
1.6 per 1,000 − 13.3%
Burglary 228
2.5 per 1,000 − 1.3%
Drug offences 94
1.0 per 1,000 + 11.9%
ONS / Home Office · Police-recorded crime · Community Safety Partnership data
SCHOOLS & OFSTED

Schools and inspection outcomes

Open schools, pupil numbers and the latest published Ofsted inspection position for Forest of Dean.

55 schools
Open schools 55
Pupils 10,867
School places 13,388
Capacity used 81.2%
Primary 45 schools
5,643 pupils
Secondary 6 schools
4,877 pupils
Other / specialist 3 schools
347 pupils
16+ provision 1 school
0 pupils
CURRENT POSITION

Inspection coverage

Latest Ofsted management information
Renewed framework 8
14.5% of open schools
Previous full framework 30
54.5% of open schools
Ungraded inspection 13
23.6% of open schools
No Ofsted record 3
5.5% of open schools
No published outcome 1
1.8% of open schools
RENEWED FRAMEWORK

Latest inspection standards

8 schools assessed
Achievement 8 assessed
Expected standard 5
Strong standard 2
Needs attention 1
Attendance & behaviour 8 assessed
Expected standard 4
Strong standard 3
Needs attention 1
Curriculum & teaching 8 assessed
Expected standard 5
Strong standard 2
Needs attention 1
Inclusion 8 assessed
Strong standard 5
Expected standard 3
Leadership & governance 8 assessed
Expected standard 5
Strong standard 3
Personal development 8 assessed
Expected standard 5
Strong standard 2
Exceptional 1
Safeguarding 8 assessed
Met 8
PREVIOUS FRAMEWORK

Legacy Ofsted ratings

These ratings apply only to schools whose latest full inspection remains under the previous Ofsted framework. Schools assessed under the renewed framework are shown separately above.

Good 18
Requires improvement 4
Not judged 8
LOCAL SCHOOLS

School directory

View all schools
School Phase Pupils Capacity Latest Ofsted position
Ann Cam Church of England Primary School URN 149677 · GL18 2BH Primary 126 105 Good
Aylburton Church of England Primary School URN 148211 · GL15 6DB Primary 68 70 Renewed framework
Berry Hill Primary School URN 115549 · GL16 7AT Primary 201 210 Not judged
Blakeney Primary School URN 115502 · GL15 4EB Primary 75 84 Requires improvement
Bream Church of England Primary School URN 148230 · GL15 6JW Primary 186 210 Good
Bromesberrow St Mary's Church of England Primary School URN 151067 · HR8 1RT Primary 57 56 No published outcome
Churcham Primary School URN 115510 · GL2 8BD Primary 32 56 Good
Clearwell Church of England Primary School URN 115638 · GL16 8LG Primary 41 70 Ungraded inspection
School information: Get Information about Schools (GIAS). Inspection information: Ofsted monthly management information. Inspection frameworks differ over time, so renewed-framework standards and previous overall effectiveness grades are shown separately.
Published expenditure£0.00No spending file imported
Revenue budget£0.00Not imported
Reported overspend£0.00Not imported outturn
Contracts00 active
Identified suppliers0Normalised entities
PEOPLE AND PLACE

Population snapshot

View full People profile
Population 89,753 2024
South West region 5,889,695
Forest of Dean represents 1.52% of the region's population
Five-year population change
+3,479 residents ↑ 4.0%
2019: 86,274 residents2020: 86,454 residents2021: 87,114 residents2022: 87,931 residents2023: 89,050 residents2024: 89,753 residents
Forest of Dean +4.0%
South West +4.4%
England +4.3%
Growth context

Forest of Dean's population grew over five years. Its change was broadly in line with the South West and broadly in line with England.

2019–2024 ONS mid-year estimates
Population estimates and labour-market measures from ONS/Nomis.Official profile
BENEFITS & FINANCIAL PRESSURE

How is Universal Credit changing in Forest of Dean?

People receiving Universal Credit and how the caseload has changed over the latest 24 months.

DWP · May 2026
PEOPLE ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT 8,608 9.6% of the 2024 resident population May 2026
CHANGE IN 12 MONTHS +8.9% +700 people
LATEST MONTHLY CHANGE +0.6% +49 since April 2026
LOCAL CONTEXT

Universal Credit recipients as a share of population

Comparison using 2024 resident population estimates.

May 2026
Forest of Dean LOCAL AUTHORITY
9.6%
South West REGION
10.0%
England COUNTRY
12.3%
Percentage of the resident population receiving Universal Credit. This is not an unemployment rate.
24-MONTH TREND

People receiving Universal Credit

Monthly caseload recorded on the DWP Universal Credit system.

June 2024 May 2026
8,646 8,018 7,390
June 2024 May 2026
What does this measure?

Universal Credit provides financial support to people who are on a low income or out of work. These figures count people receiving Universal Credit, not households and not the number of people who are unemployed.

DWP Stat-Xplore
HOUSING LICENSING

HMOs and property licensing

Coverage not assessedNational HMO explorer
Licensed HMOsAwaiting registerOnly licensed properties will be counted
Register accessNot assessedNo register record available
Identifiable HMO expenditureNot identifiableNot separately described in published transactions
Inspection and enforcement dataAwaiting dataNo activity source imported yet
Coverage note

A licensed HMO register has not yet been located for this council. CouncilMetrics does not estimate HMO expenditure from broad housing or social-care descriptions.

FINANCE

How this council raises and spends money

Comparable official outturn for 2024/25, reported to central government.

MHCLG official outturn
Total service expenditure
£15.82m 2024/25 actual outturn
Net revenue expenditure
£12.68m 2024/25 actual outturn
Council Tax requirement
£9.74m 2024/25 actual outturn
Unallocated reserves
£1.02m 2024/25 actual outturn
Service expenditure per resident £176
Median for councils of the same type £166 6.5% above peer median
2024/25 SERVICE SPENDING

Where the money was spent

Net current expenditure after service income.

Actual outturn
Environmental and regulatory services Gross £8.04m · Income £2.73m
£5.31m
Central services Gross £6.32m · Income £1.24m
£5.08m
Planning and development Gross £4.66m · Income £1.30m
£3.36m
Housing Gross £2.78m · Income £1.23m
£1.56m
Culture and related services Gross £852.0k · Income £378.0k
£474.0k
Highways and transport Gross £250.0k · Income £208.0k
£42.0k
CORE FUNDING

Selected funding sources

Major financing lines in the central return.

Council Tax requirement£9.74m
Retained business rates£1.98m
Revenue Support Grant£191.0k
UNALLOCATED RESERVES

Financial buffer

General unallocated reserves during the year.

Opening £1.02m
Closing £1.02m
£0.00 increase during 2024/25
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government · Revenue Outturn RS and RSX · values shown in pounds Official dataset
BORROWING AND INVESTMENTS

Balance-sheet position

A point-in-time view of debt and liquid investments at the end of 2026/27 Q1.

MHCLG quarterly return
Outstanding borrowing
£0.00 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Investments and cash
£14.66m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Net debt
£-14.66m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Net debt per resident
£-163 Per resident using latest population
This council's net debt per resident £-163
Median for non-metropolitan district councils £95 271.5% lower than the peer median
QUARTERLY TREND

Borrowing, investments and net debt

2020/21 Q1 to 2026/27 Q1.

£1.11m quarterly increase
2020/21 Q12021/22 Q32023/24 Q12024/25 Q32026/27 Q1
Latest quarterly movement +£1.11m +7.1%
Change across the series −£1.19m Net debt since 2020/21 Q1
What changed?

Net debt increased despite borrowing not rising because investments and cash fell during the quarter.

MHCLG Borrowing and Investment live table · 2026/27 Q1 · values shown in pounds Official dataset
COUNCIL TAX & COLLECTION

How much council tax remains unpaid?

Council tax collection, outstanding arrears and write-offs reported to central government.

MHCLG 2025/26
Outstanding arrears
£6.64m Total outstanding at financial year-end
Collection rate
96.44% Collected against the in-year debit
Council tax written off
£147,000 Written off during the financial year
Council tax collected
£72.65m Receipts relating to the financial year
FIVE-YEAR TREND

How has unpaid council tax changed?

Outstanding arrears at each financial year-end.

2021/22–2025/26
OUTSTANDING ARREARS 2025/26
£6.64m
CHANGE SINCE 2021/22
+ 87.8%
+ £3.11m
ENGLAND CHANGE
+49.5%
£3.54m 2021/22 £3.89m 2022/23 £4.35m 2023/24 £5.01m 2024/25 £6.64m 2025/26

Figures represent total outstanding council tax balances, including arrears carried forward from earlier years. Changes in council boundaries can affect historical comparisons.

OUTSTANDING ARREARS

Where does the unpaid council tax come from?

Breakdown of outstanding balances at the end of 2025/26.

£6.64m outstanding
CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR £2.68m

40.4% of outstanding arrears

EARLIER FINANCIAL YEARS £3.96m

59.6% of outstanding arrears

Current-year arrears Earlier-years arrears

Earlier-years arrears represent unpaid council tax carried forward from previous financial years. These figures do not identify individual households or establish whether balances are recoverable.

COLLECTION PERFORMANCE

How does this council compare?

England 2025/26
In-year collection rate 96.44%

England average: 95.60%  ·  0.84 percentage points above England

Outstanding arrears include unpaid balances from earlier financial years and are not the same as council tax uncollected during 2025/26. Monetary values are rounded for display. Official MHCLG source

SPENDING

Published directorate expenditure

Explore all 0 records
CONTRACTS

Largest contracts

Explore all 0 contracts
ContractSupplierStatusEnd dateOriginal value
SUPPLIERS

Largest supplier exposure

Dated transactions
SupplierPaymentsPublished expenditure
PROVENANCE

Source documents

39 imported
DocumentDatasetPeriodStatusOfficial source
Housing Delivery Test 2025 results — Forest of Deanmhclg housing delivery testHDT 2025–HDT 2025importedOpen
MHCLG district planning application decisions (PS2) — Forest of Deanmhclg planning ps21979 Q2–2026 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG district planning application statistics (PS1) — Forest of Deanmhclg planning ps11996 Q2–2026 Q1importedOpen
Defra local authority waste statistics — Forest of Dean District Councildefra local authority waste2010/11–2024/25importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2023/24 — Forest of Deanmhclg revenue outturn rsx2023/24importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2023/24 — Forest of Deanmhclg revenue outturn rs2023/24importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2022/23 — Forest of Deanmhclg revenue outturn rsx2022/23importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2022/23 — Forest of Deanmhclg revenue outturn rs2022/23importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2021/22 — Forest of Deanmhclg revenue outturn rsx2021/22importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2021/22 — Forest of Deanmhclg revenue outturn rs2021/22importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2020/21 — Forest of Deanmhclg revenue outturn rsx2020/21importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2020/21 — Forest of Deanmhclg revenue outturn rs2020/21importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q4 — Forest of Deanmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q3 — Forest of Deanmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q2 — Forest of Deanmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q1 — Forest of Deanmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q4 — Forest of Deanmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q3 — Forest of Deanmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q2 — Forest of Deanmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q1 — Forest of Deanmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q4 — Forest of Deanmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q3 — Forest of Deanmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q2 — Forest of Deanmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q1 — Forest of Deanmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q4 — Forest of Deanmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q3 — Forest of Deanmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q2 — Forest of Deanmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q1 — Forest of Deanmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q4 — Forest of Deanmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q3 — Forest of Deanmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q2 — Forest of Deanmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q1 — Forest of Deanmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q4 — Forest of Deanmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q3 — Forest of Deanmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q2 — Forest of Deanmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q1 — Forest of Deanmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2026/27 Q1 — Forest of Deanmhclg borrowing investment2026/27 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2024/25 — Forest of Deanmhclg revenue outturn rsx2024/25importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2024/25 — Forest of Deanmhclg revenue outturn rs2024/25importedOpen
How to read these figures and the Financial Health Score

Budget summaries and financial positions retain the reporting year and assurance status of their original source. Draft or unaudited values are labelled separately from audited outturn figures. The Financial Health Score uses reserves cover, net debt per resident, liquidity and quarterly debt direction from central MHCLG returns. Each component is converted to a percentile among councils of the same authority type; available components are weighted 35%, 30%, 20% and 15% respectively. A score is published only when at least three components covering 65% of the weighting are available. It is a comparative financial indicator, not an assessment of service quality or political performance.